continued from page 26
ual should have some personal passion
that they’ll drive five states over just to
obtains some rare collectible. It’s almost
like a prime directive, although not all
share the trait — you’ve just got to have an
obsession that you’ll go to the mat for, as it
were. And when you first get your hands
on a said item? “There’s nothing like that
thrill, right?” She gushes. “It makes a lot of
things in life just that much more fun. And
I mean, just look at the political climate,
and then you think of (your collectible that
makes you happy), and all is right with the
wife open their own? How difficult could
this glamping be? Now that she’s changed
her own Lay septic system, she’s got a
pretty good idea what the business entails.
In truth, Pierson elaborates, “It wasn’t a
planned event, just like The B-52’s wasn't a
plan — we sort of started by spontaneous
combustion one night.” And what a night,
by all accounts! After downing a flaming
volcano drink in their hometown of
Athens, GA back in 1976, Pierson, poet
Fred Schneider, percussionist Keith
Strickland, singer Cindy Wilson, and her
The B-52's circa 1978 (left to right) Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland,
Kate Pierson, Ricky Wilson, and Cindy Wilson. photo by George DuBose
world again.” This writer’s amazing recent
find was a “Pussy Wagon” T-shirt, embla-
zoned with the keychain logo of Uma
Thurman’s stolen pickup truck in “Kill
Bill”; true collectors have probably already
promo-only replicas of the keychain itself
from e-Bay. “I actually have a pair of
“Pussy Control” underwear from a Prince
tour,” she chimes in, giggling. "It was
given out during a Prince tour, and my
friend got me a pair and gave them to me.
And I, of course, had them framed.”
Pierson is known for some unusual —
but incredibly cool collaborations over the
years, like the Ramones single “Chop
Suey,” the 1990 hit “Candy” with Iggy Pop,
and the David Byrne/Fatboy Slim linkup
“The Whole Man,” not to mention exten-
sive work with R.E.M. (“Shiny Happy
People”). But how, exactly, did she tumble
into the hospitality business? The idea hit
her while tooling down Route 28 late one
night, as she began to notice the quaint lit-
tle inns, motels and bed and breakfasts that
dotted her path. Why couldn’t she and her
26 illinoisentertainer.com september 2019
brilliant inventive guitarist brother Ricky
Wilson (who would pass away in 1985
from AIDS-related causes, nearly ending
the group) came up with a bare-bones,
surf-echoey style that was like no other.
With Island Records honcho Chris
Blackwell producing, the band flew to the
Bahamas in 1979 to track its eponymous
debut, which featured such signature clas-
sics as a "Planet Claire” and “Rock
Lobster,” which Family Guy auteur Seth
MacFarlane still manages to incorporate
into almost every new season. It’s a tribute
to the ‘60s-inspired filigrees of Wilson —
combined with Schneider’s charismatic
barked vocal and the girl-group harmonies
of Kate and Cindy — “The B-52’s” not only
holds up today, it feels like it was con-
ceived only yesterday.
Appearing Sunday, September 15th at
Riot Fest Chicago.